MEDIA ALERT – NEWS CONFERENCE
CONTACT: Pete Daniels / pdaniels@saferoads.org / 301-442-2249
Bill Bronrott / bronrott@gmail.com / 202-270-4415
Annual Report Card to Rate 50 States & DC on Passage of Top Traffic Safety Laws Aimed at Curbing Historic Rise in Roadway Deaths
New poll gauging public worries about traffic safety also to be unveiled
WHEN: TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM EST
WHAT:
NEWS CONFERENCE – Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) will release the 2022 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, an annual report detailing 16 optimal traffic safety laws proven to reduce crashes, injuries and deaths. Advocates will also release the findings of a new public opinion poll about roadway dangers.
The 2022 Roadmap Report:
- Rates each state and the District of Columbia as green, yellow or red based on the number of optimal traffic safety laws enacted;
- Identifies Best & Worst states; and,
- Offers opportunities to close safety gaps in each state’s traffic safety laws.
Deaths on our roadways are skyrocketing with more than 20,000 people killed during the first six months of 2021, the most during this period since 2006. This accounts for a nearly 20 percent rise in deaths over the same period in 2020 — the largest such spike ever recorded in the U.S. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Safety advocates, elected officials as well as law enforcement, medical and insurance professionals will present the 2022 report cards and call on states to close lethal loopholes in their laws to reverse this deadly trend. The report offers solutions to address speed- and alcohol-related crashes, lower seat belt use, as well as distracted driving, teen driving, and motorcycle helmet use.
“A crisis of this magnitude requires every state to act with urgency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to move expeditiously on the pending vehicle and roadway safety directives in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November 2021.” Advocates’ President Cathy Chase
WHERE:
This news conference will be livestreamed at www.saferoads.org. Closed captioning will be available. Reporters tuning into the livestream are invited to submit questions during the event. Individual interviews with speakers also can be arranged upon request.
WHO:
- Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
- U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), Chair, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce
- Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod (D-Nevada), Sponsor of child passenger safety legislation enacted in 2021 in Nevada
- Mary Jagim MS, RN, CEN, FAEN, 2001 President, Emergency Nurses Association
- Alan Maness, Vice President of Federal Affairs and Counsel, State Farm Insurance
- Alex Otte, National President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
- Lieutenant Carmen Trevizo, Oro Valley, Arizona Police Department
NOTE: Lt. Carmen Trevizo esta disponible para entrevistas en Español.
ELECTRONIC MEDIA KIT, including the 2022 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws report and poll results, will be available online Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 12:01 AM EST at www.saferoads.org. Embargoed copies of the Roadmap Report will be made available to the media upon request.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America’s roads safer. Advocates’ mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs.
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